“Melbourne, it’s been 12 months and it’s an absolute unmitigated disaster,” Australian Radio Network (ARN) CEO Ciaran Davis said, setting the tone for a frank appraisal of The Kyle & Jackie O Show’s rollout into the Melbourne market.
Talk about an awkward conversation starter.
Appearing at the IMAA Sound Bites event in Sydney on Thursday, Kyle Sandilands’ echoed the sentiment in characteristically blunt fashion: “Well, I blame you guys, in all honesty. I blame you guys. What we should have done is roll this out nationally from day one. Put our balls in our hand and f***ing moved forward.”
The comments, were directed toward executives from the Australian Radio Network (ARN), which syndicates the KIIS FM show, set the tone for a no-holds-barred conversation.
Held at ARN’s Sydney headquarters, the event brought together representatives from Australia’s major radio and podcasting networks to highlight the power of radio content and its impact on brand campaigns.
National ambition
Sandilands and co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson emphasised that campaigns integrated into their show often go beyond the traditional 30-second spot. “There’s 1.8 million people who connect with us,” said Henderson.
“We have had a long relationship with all our listeners; they have grown up with us in our roller coaster lives. Their kids are now listening to us.”
Sandilands, who began his career in promotions and sales, said he remains deeply invested in delivering results. “I don’t want to be in a campaign that doesn’t work,” he told the room. “We want it to work for the client and to have them back again for return business.”
He continued: “Edgy brands like working with us”.
Responding to backlash
The duo also addressed recent pushback from activist groups like Mad F*cking Witches, who have called on brands to withdraw advertising from the show.
Sandilands said these types of campaigns were out of touch with audience sentiment and driven by misinformation.
“They have been a thorn in my side for about a year now. I thought, you know, we’re not for everyone. Like, I don’t like certain servos, but I’m not going to make an activist website and try to convince people never to go to that particular servo, because I’ve got a life and I’m not a loser.
“But when I found out they were actually making up stories, getting people to lie, and bombarding clients who advertise with us with fake outrage… you just think, well, people aren’t dumb,” he said.
ARN’s market strategy
Later, in an exchange with Davis, Sandilands joked about past contract negotiations and took aim at the company’s approach to the Melbourne rollout, suggesting hesitation had hampered the show’s performance.
“They told us at 2DayFM that we had been there for 10 years and our time was up. We didn’t renew our contract [and moved to ARN]… That was 15 years ago…,” he said.
In 2023, the broadcasters secured a huge $200 million deal with the ARN to stay at KIIS for another decade, which included expanding their Sydney-based breakfast show into Melbourne.
The rollout in April last year generated plenty of buzz, but Melbourne listeners were put off by the show’s sexual content, leaving it stuck at fifth place with just a 5 per cent market share, now slipping further from 5.8% to 5.1%.
Sandilands’ addressed the ratings, saying they don’t tell the whole story: “We are growing total listeners. Forget share measurement. Those who are listening to us are big on time spent listening (TSL)”.
Still, he didn’t hold back criticism of the station’s strategy in that market: “None of this like, oh, put your little toe in the water. We should have blasted us nationally from day one and just spent millions of dollars on marketing”.
Sandilands then went on to take aim at Melbourne’s current number one Breakfast show, Nova’s Jase & Lauren, saying: “Now, I know Jase. He was my b***h for about 20 years in radio. Taught him everything. Met him when he was 16. He’s a good operator. But that’s going to wear thin.”
He continued: “Melbourne will grow. So the people that have glued on are sticking for the whole show, what I call the superfan mentality. That’s all I really care about.”
An earlier version of this article attributed the phrase “absolute unmitigated disaster” to Kyle Sandilands. It was said by ARN CEO Ciaran Davis, but Kyle agrees that it is a disaster.